Waiting is a death sentence for your health, relationships, happiness, and creativity.
Waiting for the “right time” or “perfect moment” is rarely the right answer. Waiting to get healthy or to start exercising is usually just a way to avoid it. Waiting to see a doctor often means discovering an issue late, leading to bigger problems and harsher challenges. Waiting to start couples therapy frequently ends in divorce, or in problems that have grown too big to overcome. Waiting to begin a creative project or venture often results in someone else doing it first.
Our brains want to wait. They want to get it right. But waiting is often an unconscious symptom of perfectionism. And since “perfect” isn’t part of the human condition, waiting is just the mind’s way of avoiding discomfort. It’s a way to dodge growth, improvement, failure, experimentation, and practice.
You will never be “ready.” You go when you’re “ready enough.” You will never be good at anything unless you start. And most of us start not-so-good; it’s only by beginning before we’re ready that we learn the lessons, build resilience, and discover that most challenges aren’t going to kill us. That process is where real confidence is built—not the fake kind where you think you’ll always succeed, but true confidence, where you know you might fail and still show up anyway. True confidence is getting up and doing it again after you’ve failed.
In my work, I hear people say all the time, “It’s not the right time,” or “After I get through this [insert excuse here], then I’ll be ready.” But guess what? Life is always going to keep sending things down the pipeline. Your life won’t just clear up and make space for what’s important; you’re going to have to make that space. You have to prioritize the things you want, need, or that will make a difference. Otherwise, they just won’t happen.
This is the time to create what’s next. This is the time to sign up for therapy, get to the gym, hire a trainer, find a coach, go see the doctor, quit that job, write the book, or come join us at the next Alchemy of Men Retreat.
Will you keep putting things off with good excuses, or will you step up to the plate of your life and create what’s next—now—even if it’s not the “right” time or “perfect” moment? Because those don’t exist. There’s only now.